Flora for Four

Conrad “the Caveman” Stoltz is the only elite racer to win four XTERRA World titles.

Julie Dibens is one of only two racers to win three straight (2007-to-2009).

And in a few weeks Flora Duffy will have the chance to tie Stoltz with four and bolt past Dibens with four straight when she puts her toes in the sand at the 22nd XTERRA World Championship.

“I actually totally forgot that I equaled Julie’s record for most wins in a row,” said Duffy. “Of course, it would be nice to bump the record up to 4-in-a-row but that is not my focus, rather a nice bonus. I just want to have a fast, fun, safe race.”

Duffy has had all kinds of fast, fun, safe races this season having dominated the ITU World Triathlon Series with six wins and a successful World Title defense.

“It has been quite the year, way more than I could have ever imagined,” she exclaimed. “It has been a perfect season. The big goal was to defend my World Triathlon Series world title, which I did and did so by winning way more races than I thought possible. Really a dream come true. Of course, I would love to defend my XTERRA world title now, but I have a slightly different approach to the race this year- a more relaxed approach. Last year, I raced at a very high level all year and was exhausted by the end of the season and actually started the 2017 season still feeling the effects of 2016. So, to prevent that from happening again, I have a more relaxed approach to training leading into XTERRA Worlds. I still would like to win, but whether I have the form to is another question. We’ll see!”

Duffy will have no shortage of contenders looking to stop the streak with the likes of Barbara Riveros, Brigitta Poor, Suzie Snyder, Myriam Guillot-Boisset, Helena Karaskova-Erbenova, Jacqui Allen, Michelle Flipo, Laura Philipp, Lizzie Orchard, Julie Baker, etc…however, nobody brings out the best in her like the “Scottish Rocket” Lesley Paterson.

“As far as rivals go, Lesley is the one to watch,” said Duffy. “She is a fierce competitor and one that never gives up. I know Lesley will be bringing some good form to Maui and I look forward to racing against her. When we are both ‘on’ we can really bring the best out of one another which is really cool and makes the racing exciting.”

Exciting indeed. We’ll have more on the women’s elite race in the weeks to come and here is a look at the tentative elite women’s start list: